Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

We currently regard the term "mechanic' to denote one who works with the hands to build, repair, or modify machinery, whether a Ferrari or an irrigation pump. In the 19th Century, the term was more broadly construed, often embracing today's professions of builder, designer, even architect. Associational groups of such professionals sponsored continuing education, social improvement activities, and entertainment for their members. Additionally, they were often engines of change by advocating introducing professional credentialing/licensing requirements or making them more rigorous.

Thus, we see here a monument to what G. B. Shaw might have labelled a "conspiracy against the laity."

The Boston Evening Transcript (Sept 1903) touted advances in aerial navigation mentioning Professor Langley, Santos-Dumont, and Alexander Graham Bell. Bell's models had arrived for the exposition and the others were expected to be among the manufacturers represented.

No mention of the Wright Brothers and their work. Just 2 months later, the Wright Brothers would bring controllable heavier than air flight to fruition at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo archive featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1960s. (Available as fine-art prints from the Shorpy Archive.) The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.